Here we take a look at some of the current photo processes and how they have been influenced by the practices of the past.
Photography is having more of an impact than ever before. With the growth of smartphones and tablets we鈥檙e hardly ever far from a camera, giving us the ability to document every aspect of our lives.聽It hasn鈥檛 always been this way, in the middle of the 19th Century, photography was a wealthy person’s聽hobby. Since then photography has exploded into something that is accessible to everyone. It has been said that around half the world鈥檚 population now carry some form of camera in their pocket.聽As to the question of whether or not today鈥檚 photography is better, that鈥檚 for you to decide.
Panorama
This became popular soon after the invention of photography. Before we had wide angle lenses, the ability to create overviews of cities and landscapes was carried out by making panoramas. Early panoramas were made by placing two or more of what is called a next to each other. Nowadays these can be created in a variety of different ways. For example, dedicated panoramic cameras, software that 鈥榮titches鈥 multiple images together, or even dedicated 鈥淧ano鈥 settings on your favourite smartphone.
Filters
One of the most popular features of are the filters. They give you the ability to choose from an array of different styles, so you can tweak your images to exactly how you want them. No longer do you need to get up at some ungodly hour, carry around a tripod and a selection of graded filters so you can get that perfect shot. Creating the look of the four seasons is literally at your fingertips.
Polaroid
These days we take for granted the ability to view and share our photographs the moment we capture them. Digital photography and social media means that our images can be seen all over the world in a matter of minutes.
This wasn鈥檛 always the case, we used to send film away to be developed and had to wait a few days for the photographs. This process became too much for one person though, Edwin H. Land, the founder of Polaroid. When Land was on holiday in 1943, with his 3-year-old daughter, she asked why she wasn鈥檛 able to see the picture that he had just taken of her.
Land got thinking and set about on his quest to make an instant camera. Three years later the Polaroid camera was born. This was the first time people were able to immediately see the pictures they had taken. The Polaroid format has become iconic, companies offer the option to print your pictures in the Polaroid style. Filters and frames can even be applied to images to make them look as if they were taken with a Polaroid camera. Whilst the technology may be outdated, the iconography of the Polaroid lives on.
Pinhole Camera
This is essentially a box with a pinhole at one end that contains light sensitive material such as paper or film. This is placed in front of a subject/object and light rays pass through a small hole to form an image which can be viewed when processed. This same process can be replicated using your DSLR. Find out how here:
Selfie
Often considered a fairly recent phenomenon, the Oxford English Dictionary declared 鈥渟elfie鈥 as their 2013 word of the year. The term has even spawned its own song and was famously championed by Ellen DeGeneres at the 2014 Academy Awards. Since then we seem to have gone 鈥渟elfie鈥 mad! However the selfie actually goes way back to 1839, when American photography enthusiast Robert Cornelius took a self-portrait. He removed the lens cap and then ran into the frame where he sat for a short period of time before covering up the lens again. On the back he wrote 鈥淭he first light鈥 This is considered by many to be the first selfie.
Drone
Very much a buzz word at the moment, the Drone or 鈥淯AV鈥 (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is not a new thing. Their roots actually lie in military surveillance where the earliest recorded use was in 1849. These days with the advance in technology and the lower price point, drones are more accessible to the general public and have grown in popularity. Now drones are seemingly being flown by anyone, anywhere whether legally or illegally. There have been a number of high profile 鈥渘ear misses鈥 such as a drone being flown over London landmarks for a , and with a plane coming into land at London’s Heathrow airport. Currently, in the UK we are still waiting for new regulatory laws to be introduced to restrict the zones in which they can be flown.
The technology and techniques we use today are hugely inspired by the history of photography and like many things, trends are recycled and reused.
Who knows where photography will go next, with time-lapse videos, vines and snapchat where pictures and video seemingly self-destruct after a short time, one thing鈥檚 for certain, the world of photography is constantly evolving and it doesn鈥檛 show any signs of slowing.